“Into The Wind, A Lot Of Rain”
October 4th, 2021
Ryan Succop’s postgame quote got Joe thinking on multiple fronts.
Succop’s 48-yard, game-winning field goal last night was heroic and made Joe again bless the Bucs world that no longer includes the parade of ugly kickers that helped define the franchise for several seasons.
Succop himself noted the boot was “into the wind, a lot of rain.” So that, Joe believes, has to prompt the question, “Why did the Bucs take two home run shots to Antonio Brown before the kick by Succop if the weather conditions were that challenging?
Joe understands “No-risk-it. No biscuit.” But there’s nothing wrong with a 10-yard completion on 2nd-and-8 or 3rd-and-8 just prior to the two-minute warning.
Of course, on the final shot to Brown, Brady threw a perfect touchdown ball that Brown didn’t squeeze in the back of the end zone. A contested catch like that on a wet night is more difficult than usual, which makes the calls more thought-provoking.
The Bucs went for the kill shot twice and Succop bailed them out.
Thank goodness Lavonte David was ready to play hero.
https://twitter.com/BaldyNFL/status/1445051188945240069
October 4th, 2021 at 11:21 am
Yeah was some silly calls there. Even if Brady lead him a little much those deep balls are much harder to catch in pouring rain with the velocity it comes in at. Just take the first downs. Would have also given pats less time to try and do something
October 4th, 2021 at 11:22 am
Brady wanted a TD “dagger” to end the game w/ his boy AB. Ego was involved, plain and simple. Bucs lose if #54 doesn’t make that play
October 4th, 2021 at 11:25 am
Brady threw 2 picks the first week, 130-odd attempts since, nary a one
October 4th, 2021 at 11:32 am
Yep…..the question needs to be posed to BA, Leftwich & Brady…..I suspect it was Brady who made the ultimate choice and it was the wrong one…..we got lucky….
The strategy for 99% of the coaches would be to milk the clock….extend the downs…..kick the game winning FG with no time on the clock…..
October 4th, 2021 at 11:32 am
Byron Leftwich had insensible play calling last night, those shots to AB instead of a more likely 8 yards completion were just one of many calls that made no sense.
October 4th, 2021 at 11:33 am
Like Cam Newton said “hindsight is 50/50”. just thankful the kick wasn’t in the south endzone at RayJay. Go Bucs!!!
October 4th, 2021 at 11:33 am
Come a long way from the Brindza, Aguayo, and Pat Murray days.
The Succ does not suck
October 4th, 2021 at 11:34 am
I was thinking the same thing. Why take the shots when a shorter safer pass would have made the kick less of a risk?
October 4th, 2021 at 11:34 am
Did you watch the game ?
Mac Jones was killing us !
We were unable to stop their passing game !
And two times they crossed the field full speed !
So Clearly the thought was we need a TD to make their life harder.
Obviously, it didn’t work but it was quite close.
And n a regular standar game , of course we would have pick the 10 yards but Evans was getting pissed after his PI, Godwin doesn’t seem to be a target yesterday (would be interesting to know why), and our running game was, as usual, not really effective.
So hell yeah, attack the end zone, especially when the CB facing Brown was suffering from cramps
October 4th, 2021 at 11:37 am
I too am wondering about Chris Godwin’s disappearing act. He caught when thrown to. Must not have been getting open.
October 4th, 2021 at 11:38 am
Times like that the risk it biscuit mentality can backfire. Fortunately Succop bailed them out, but the play calling still left too much time for the Patriots. Situational football right? Just get a first down. Get closer to the end zone. Run time off the clock. They got kicky.
October 4th, 2021 at 11:39 am
Continually throwing deep under those game conditions is baffling. By my count Brady threw deep 14 times last night & only completed 3 of them (21%). Take those away from his 22-for-43 performance, and his short/intermediate accuracy was 19-for-29 (65.5%) … real close to where Tom Brady always is, game in & game out.
Since it was raining pretty heavy & our running game was working fairly decently, can’t understand all the deep calls, especially with Gronk out & Godwin being targeted sparingly for some reason (he only got targeted 5 times, 4 of those deep balls). Chris did however play 73 offensive snaps, so I’m wondering if his thumb is hurt more than anyone’s telling.
October 4th, 2021 at 11:44 am
But what they forgot was the Refs would help right on que get the Pats down the field. It was bad enough our Defense was helping. So why leave that much time on the clock?
October 4th, 2021 at 11:44 am
Joehell. Nobody is saying only play for the girls goal, but at least take a bit more time getting there. Very hard to do what they were trying to with the pouring rain.
And someone said hindsight..no I’m pretty sure as it was happening most of us were wondering why we were trying those shots
October 4th, 2021 at 11:45 am
I mean all you had to see early in the game was the Brate drop.. he never stops simple passes like that. Guys hands are moneuy
October 4th, 2021 at 11:54 am
The reason Godwin was taken out the game is because Bill Belicheick is the best at taking away slot receivers/security blankets from qbs. Even a fantasy show pointed that out this week to sit godwin because of Belicheick’s history against slot targets. Right on cue, Godwin had a quiet game. Belicheik had Tom confused at points last night and that is what Bill does. He is a defensive mastermind. Sometimes you just got to tip your cap to the other team because they are paid to make plays to. This is not madden where you can call the same play for Godwin each game regardless the opponent and have 150 yards and 3 tds.
October 4th, 2021 at 12:01 pm
Glad Succop didn’t go into the tank after missing a 36 yarder earlier. I was prepared to make a halftime call up/activation of the kid from Miami after that. 🙂
October 4th, 2021 at 12:03 pm
And Joe…you were right about David in your Morning After column…the receiver was wide arse open having watched this clip.
October 4th, 2021 at 12:24 pm
And why they did not go for 2 on their TD?
October 4th, 2021 at 12:26 pm
The two passes to Antonio Brown in the end zone?
1. First pass was perfect, but Brown lost track of it. That’s highly unusual as Brown is outstanding at ball tracking.
2. Second pass would have been a tough catch for most receivers, but Brown has great hands. Normally he catches those. It was slightly overthrown but then passes like those are supposed to be. What you want is enough loft to get past the DB and have it land where only the receiver can grab it, significantly reducing the chance of a turnover.
I think Brown and Buc pass catchers in general had a case of the nerves last night which is what led to drops and lapses. They knew what the game meant to Brady and that likely tensed them up.
October 4th, 2021 at 12:28 pm
Hey, online coaches are just complaining without using brain. Godwin was doubled all the time. The Patriots dared the Bucs to run by dropping 7 defenders. That was why TB had to throw many deep balls. The Patriots also has 2 NFL top ranked CBS to mirror Evans and AB. They double Godwin with their 3rd CB and a safety.
October 4th, 2021 at 12:40 pm
Belichek should get rid of his son Steve. First of all, nepotism isn’t cool. Second, the guy, with the mullet and the ridiculous facial expressions and tongue wagging, is a complete tool. He couldn’t be a good enough coach to justify him making the team look so stupid for hiring him. Belichek is being exposed with an 8-12 record since Tommy flew the coop. Sorry Bill but it seems you dropped your cookie.
October 4th, 2021 at 12:41 pm
Sherman was picked on that play and best believe they were NOT gonna call it
October 4th, 2021 at 12:42 pm
Fully agree. I was wondering why they went for the kill twice in a row as well.
Just go for the first down, and if you get it then you can run the clock for a game ending winning FG attempt.
October 4th, 2021 at 12:56 pm
Who is the corner that didn’t react to Sherm getting jammed? That dude should have immediately switched to Meyers. I saw that stack formation and I was like, “Oh F!”
October 4th, 2021 at 1:01 pm
Brady didn’t have to take that throw. Godwin was open for the 1st down. AB had the 1 on 1 so Brady took it. I didn’t like the decision but it was what it was. Stop trying to blame Leftwitch or the play call.
October 4th, 2021 at 1:16 pm
Joe easy answer here. The cornerback who was covering AB was being checked out by medical staff on the field before both plays. He had to come out for a play, and then he came back in. The Patriots took a timeout after that play so that he could stay on the field and be evaluated again. He was moving with a noticeable limp. It looked like his groin perhaps. I think Brady was just trying to expose it.
October 4th, 2021 at 1:35 pm
I tend to agree with you Mike.
Patriots were dropping 7 into coverage – sometimes 8.
J.C. Jackson is their best corner. He covered Evans all night long. It was single coverage and I think Evans did well against him.
I am pretty sure that Godwin’s routes were more double covered than Browns during the game but certainly someone could show me I am wrong.
On the 2nd and 8 with 2 min 13 seconds left, Brown and Evans were playing X receiver rolls and Godwin was playing the Z. Howard was playing the Y and Fournette was in the backfield. Fournette and Howard both initially stayed in to block. New England had 8 guys on the line and 1 other guy just 5 yards off the line when the play started. As they did all game, most dropped back when the ball snapped.
Godwin was in motion so certainly, he can be a key guy there but I never see him open on that play. Clearly you can see when Brady throws the ball to Brown that Godwin is double covered.
In hindsight Howard came open after a delay into the flat. If that is Gronk, that read is almost certainly to Gronk. Without Gronk, I think Brady made the correct read but only because I do not trust Howard in that late game scenario.
That ball from Brady was beautiful to Brown. He just lost sight of it. I think it was an easy score if Brown sees the ball.
3rd down and 8 with 2 min 7 seconds left. I think that Brown, Evans and Godwin all beat their man. We were lucky that they doubled Brate and their high safety and middle linebacker did not really cover anyone in the scheme.
It seems that the Godwin throw was the easiest throw with the Brown throw being the hardest. Both Godwin and Evans would have moved the chains. So it appears that Brady made the wrong read there.
October 4th, 2021 at 1:36 pm
Outside of Succup, Wirfs and/or Marpet, there better be no one crying on the Bucs about Pro-Bowl, All-Pro or any other individual recognition.
October 4th, 2021 at 1:49 pm
Leftwich’s play calling has been bad.
October 4th, 2021 at 1:52 pm
HC Grover Says:
October 4th, 2021 at 12:24 pm
And why they did not go for 2 on their TD?
—–
I completely agree! Why in the world did Arians not go for two after the touchdown by Rojo?!?!!?!?!?!
October 4th, 2021 at 1:56 pm
Been watching the NFL for approx 6 decades. Last night was the sloppy game of nightmares. I mean we got a 15 yd. penalty on the first freak’n play. The clock still read 15:00 hahahaha. I thought “here we go, another Chicago fiasco. To complain about our secondary has gotten redundant partially because Todd is so damn hard headed. Right now i’m guessing all the teams left on the schedule, are throwing their running play in the trash. They won’t need them LOL. And poor Tommy Boy, barely broke 50% passing. AND NO IT WASNT THE WEATHER. Look what their QB did. Like fishing in a barrel. The game goes into the “W” column. On to Cincinnati haha Let me correct something. It was the sloppiest game i’ve ever watched and they still won
October 4th, 2021 at 1:59 pm
Im gonna use hindsight here and ask why are yall complaining about clock management? If they made that 56 yard FG we would of had about a full minute and 2 timeouts………So whats the problem?
And I cant complain about 2 back to back playcalls that are TDs. Maybe I could see the point if your throwing to a scrub reciever but putting the ball right into a Hall of Famers hands……..Im sorry, that needs to be a TD. Twice.
Mike Evans should have had a TD too BTW. Mike should of had a great game but in the end his gag in the redzone sticks out.
October 4th, 2021 at 2:30 pm
@Mike … “Hey, online coaches are just complaining without using brain. Godwin was doubled all the time. The Patriots dared the Bucs to run by dropping 7 defenders. That was why TB had to throw many deep balls. The Patriots also has 2 NFL top ranked CBS to mirror Evans and AB. They double Godwin with their 3rd CB and a safety.”
Interesting comments Mike, but I’m having trouble understanding the rationale about why TB had to throw so many deep balls. Admittedly only watched the game once, and you don’t get to see all the coverages develop on TV, but Godwin was out there for 73 plays (almost all of our 30 rushes and 44 passing attempts). And yet he was only targeted 5 times, 4 of those deep.
So since the Pats rushed 3-4 DLinemen, and Godwin was constantly double-covered the entire game, why not take the Patriots’ dare & run the ball down their throats more instead of throwing so many deep passes? IOW force them to play the run instead of playing into their hands.
And given those numbers, why didn’t we target Fournette even more than we did? Lenny was 3-for-5 receiving for 47 yards (and at least 1 of his non-catches was thrown at his feet as I remember). He was obviously hot last night, so why not ride that horse while he’s still got some git-up-and-go?
October 4th, 2021 at 2:32 pm
Folk didn’t hit on a 56 yarder in the rain. Give him a break.
October 4th, 2021 at 2:43 pm
@Alton Green … “And poor Tommy Boy, barely broke 50% passing. AND NO IT WASNT THE WEATHER. Look what their QB did. Like fishing in a barrel.”
The key difference IMO Alton is that Mac Jones was throwing against OUR pass defense; Tom Brady was going against a much better pass defense. And TB’s completion rate on the short stuff was MUCH higher (65%) than it was on his deep stuff (21%), even against the Top-5 ranked Pats pass defense.
Still think that the almost constant rain could well have been a factor in the deep passing game. Might be wrong, but it seems like it could easily impact depth perception at least some on 50-60 yard passes, for both QBs & receivers. And especially at night under the lights.
October 4th, 2021 at 3:06 pm
So many ‘Rub’ routes. The league needs to get on top of this. What use to be occasional and was mainly accidental is now lots of coaches calls every time in the red zone and on 3rd downs.
October 4th, 2021 at 3:42 pm
With a 33% target rate to Cam Brate ,being patient and involving Godwin
was a far better option, IMO. Some of the throws to Brate and Evans reminded me of Jameis when he was too amped up. They just were not catchable. The goal
should be to place the ball in the best possible place to catch it. There is still room to improve on catch rates for other receivers other than Brown. I wonder if Brady
has relied too much on Gronk and Brown and the other receivers and Brady are not in sync as they should be at this point in the season.
October 4th, 2021 at 4:31 pm
If you know you have single coverage with AB – I would have liked to have seen Tom take a peek at a 1st down throw. We knew our defense was struggling – you know the calls have been going against you all night (minus the non-call tripping tackle) – I’m learning that Brady luck is stronger then Buc luck!!
PS
I still can’t believe that a punch out caused fumble (and called that way on the field) was over turned by replay.
October 4th, 2021 at 5:16 pm
The reason the bucs did not go for two is because it was still mid 3rd quarter. No need to chase points at that time in the game. So for instance, if the pats scored two touchdowns, then the score would have been 21-13 and the bucs can tie with a a TD and two pt conversion. If they went for two in the 3rd quarter as you suggest and they missed and the pats score two tds, the score is now 21-12 and then the bucs would be down two scores as oppose to one. Too early to chase points at that point in the game.
October 4th, 2021 at 5:32 pm
WHAAAAAA WHAAAAA. … BUCS are 3-1 without a real challenge till Bills in December…
At Home… grow up ya bunch of Wendy whinnners… 🙄
October 4th, 2021 at 5:40 pm
If you’re going to sell out on the blitz, then get up and jam all the WRs. I just don’t get what Bowles is doing with his blitzes this year. He didn’t do so here, but all game he’s blitzing guys from 5-8 yards off the line, which makes no sense, since teams are doing quick passes and the pressure is obviously never going to get there from that depth. But if you are going to blitz from the line, then get your corners and even safeties up and jam the line. On that play, if they go the 1st down, you’d literally want them to break the play and get the TD so Tom would have the time to respond, last thing you’d want is to blitz and have the guy pick up 10 yards, then they can just run the clock down to 1 second and kick the FG.